Designers
Get to know the designers of our collections
Antti Kotilainen
And, Chip, Dale, Frame, Option, Spot, XO
A designer who has focused on furniture design and done it successfully for Scandinavian furniture companies since 1992.
He emphasizes that design is, above all, a series of thoughts, experiments, grounds, and decisions in which intuition must be constantly kept bright in mind.
He sees it as the designer’s job to live, to look around, to see things, and to build on this argument for this time. In furniture design, he is interested in the diversity of design that is built around the furniture.
Skillful furniture design does not consist of the obvious but a controlled violation of the world and proportions. He emphasizes the long-term nature of the collaboration between the designer and the company, where both give each other their expertise.
Between him and Piiroinen, this has led to a long arc of cooperation and mutual trust, which has resulted in well-proportioned furniture that shows the designer’s intransigence combined with sensitivity.
“A writer writes about life, a designer shapes about life.”
Antti Nurmesniemi
Nurmesniemi Collection
Professor Antti Nurmesniemi (1927-2003) was one of the pioneers of Finnish design, whose products, created over decades, show originality, independence, and reliability.
Participating in everyday social life with open eyes and mind, in addition to classic products, produced writings for publications in the field, lectures, and exhibition design.
Despite his successful career, Nurmesniemi considered the peace of mind he found in his work to be his most important professional achievement.
Piiroinen has had the honor of having a Triennale chair designed by Antti Nurmesniemi for the Milan Triennale in 1960. In the collaboration between the designer and the manufacturer, he always emphasized the importance of each expert in the creation of the product.
In his opinion, the collaboration with Piiroinen was inconsistent, as it showed people’s attitude towards their work and respect for the designer.
“Design is a language of cultural policy that has taken material form.”
Asko Lax
Dome
Asko Lax, a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, studied architecture before starting his design education and founded his own company, but decided based on a few years of experience that graduating as an architect on the eve of the recession should give way to an international design career.
Over the years, this decision has proved to be a good solution; in addition to being a furniture designer, he has developed into a skilled industrial designer.
Dome chair series, based on the innovative structure of the backrest, has been created in cooperation with Piiroinen. In the essence of the chair, you can notice features of the designer’s living environment, the tranquility of the North, and the rugged shapes.
He has worked as the design director of Polar Electro Oy but currently works again in his own company, whose customers include Piiroinen and leading international consumer electronics companies. He still appreciates the furniture industry, after all, the product as a whole is the result of the designer’s thinking.
“A new product is successful if it looks at the beginning like it has always existed.”
Ingrid Backman
Amina
Ingrid Backman has trained as an interior architect and designer in Sweden, at the University of Gothenburg (Högskolan för design och konsthantverk) and in Austria, at the Vienna University of Applied Sciences.
She has worked as an interior architect and designer at White Arkitekter AB in Sweden since 1999 and is a co-owner and partner at White Arkitekter AB since 2006.
Ingrid does spatial design and product development for both outdoor and indoor use for both the public and private sectors. Her strength is in shaping the environment and products from human needs and functions; Here, architecture is of great importance.
It is important to her that the products she designs are suitable for the environment and that space gets added value from carefully considered functions and design.
Ingrid’s roots are in the forests of Finland and the landscapes of its thousands of lakes, the peace of which she wants to convey in the design of facilities and products. The goal is socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable solutions.
Kaarle Holmberg
Arena tables
Kaarle Holmberg is a wide-ranging designer who has won numerous awards for his work. He draws inspiration for his design from architecture, art and nature.
In his opinion, a well-designed product has an intellectual or artistic content created by designers with artistic education.
In addition to his design work, he has contributed to Finnish design education and its development by working as a teacher of furniture and interior design at the Lahti Institute of Design and the University of Art and Design Helsinki.
For young design students, he wants to pass on experiential knowledge about furniture design and emphasizes the importance of design and manufacturing quality as a success factor in international competition. In addition to furniture design, he has offered Piiroinen his valuable expertise in establishing the Piiroinen furniture unit and developing its business.
“Design is the application of art to everyday objects and the architecture of a space.”
Pasi Pänkäläinen
Arena 022, Arena 033, Arena Tables, auditorios
Pasi Pänkäläinen’s professional career began with a collaboration with Piiroinen right after graduating, from which he has learned practical lessons about industrial furniture design and working with industry.
As Piiroinen’s first furniture designer, he created guidelines for future furniture; for individuals where matching features can be found with the first ARENA furniture.
The basis of the design work is interest and will to understand the people for whom the products are made. How do we think, feel, and act? How do we experience and use the built environment and products?
In his opinion, a good product includes the joy of insight, both for the designer and the user. In addition to furniture design, he implements this idea in industrial design, exhibition and trade fair design, product graphics and packaging design, and in his teaching work. He received the Finnish Prize of the State Arts and Crafts Committee in 1997.
“It’s essential to work seriously, but not severely.”
Samuli Naamanka
Compos Collection (not available at the moment)
Interior architect Samuli Naamanka feels like a versatile designer who brings together thoughtful design language and technically innovative solutions.
Samuli Naamanka has designed the ecological COMPOS collection for Piiroinen. It utilizes 100% biodegradable natural fiber polymerized from flax and corn sugar.
In addition to product and interior design, Naamanka specializes in environmental design. He has done groundbreaking work for concrete product development, among other things. As a result, for example, patented inventions have been made for the patterning technique of graphic concrete and the painting of concrete with several different colors.
FOKLAb, FOKKEMA & PARTNERS ARCHITECTEN
Pi Collection
Fokkema & Partners is often asked to describe the main features of the company.
The designation of only one style does not answer this question because the projects vary so widely.
However, since the start of the company in 1995, all projects have had one thing in common: the quality that exceeds customer expectations.
Our goal is to get the most out of the design – it is a thorough process that starts with understanding the client’s needs – carefully and systematically trying to get to the heart of the matter.
SHL Design / Lars Vejen
Flakes, Flakes 2.0, Flakes Table
Timo Ripatti
Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Table
Timo Ripatti is an architect, interior architect, and furniture designer. He was chosen as the 2010 furniture designer of Finland.
“Good design is relevant to its user and aesthetically and structurally time-consuming.”
Tuula Falk
Amina
Tuula Falk is a trained interior architect at the University of Gothenburg (Högskolan för design och konsthantverk, HDK) and Aalto University in Helsinki.
She has worked in furniture design and interior design at Falk Arkitekter AB since 1986. In addition to design, Tuula’s assignments come from both public and private sector interior design. She thinks good furniture is suitable for both of these environments.
In 1996, Tuula was chosen as the furniture designer of the year in Finland. Tuula’s furniture has also been presented in the USA and Australia. Her forms come from northern identity. Balance and harmony between materials and shapes are important to her. High-quality everyday design is characteristic of Tuula’s design.
“Function, shape, and material must find a balance for the result to be harmonious.”
Pasi Paakki
X-table and bench
“At first I thought about what kind of furniture group I would like for my own home. One that is easy for everyone to come to and that connects the whole gang.
I wanted to design an entity that is suitable for use in homes, in addition to a variety of public facilities for all ages.
The conference, meeting, dining, and café facilities set their own exact and very demanding requirements. In addition to these items, I would love to see an X-table and bench also find its way into the world of children in schools and kindergartens.
Therefore, adults and children have been taken into account equally in the design, enabling the product to be tailored to suit different user groups. The X-table and bench are for a wide range of uses for all ages. ”
Tapio Anttila
Limi chair and Front table
Tapio Anttila (b. 1962), an Interior Architect (SIO) working in Lahti, is a respected designer both in Finland and abroad. Anttila’s work area is wide, including object design, concept design, and interior architecture.
He is particularly interested in Finnish wood and its processing in a modern way, respecting traditions. In furniture design, he focuses on functional home and public space furniture. After years as an in-house designer, in 2005 Anttila founded his own company, Tapio Anttila Design.
Tapio Anttila has been awarded several well-known design awards, such as twelve GOOD DESIGN awards for various products, twice the GREEN GOOD DESIGN award, and the EcoDesign Award for environmentally friendly design. In 2012, the Finnish Association of Industrial Art and Design Ornamo awarded Anttila the Furniture Designer of the Year award.
“The idea has been to put together a consistent collection of products designed for my partners. When the design language is in the hands of the same designer, the products are easily combined into a complete interior.”